A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity, noting goals, successes and failures and to swap ideas.

Anyone interested in starting is very welcome but you should aim to post each week, every week, however little or much you have done. By making such a regular public record of your activities and by restating your goals every week this new habit will hopefully improve your training habits to help achieve your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Link to last week's (296) thread:http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=527750&v=1#x7107153
Posters:
Biscuit – It’s a hard life training in the sun… Not a bad week there
NMN – nice to see you climbing a bit
Nomics4Sale – good week, hope your fingers get better, swollen fingers sound bad…
Sankey – Go climbing more!
Eagle River – Trying hard things is fun! Hope you make some visible improvements soon.
Joughton – Always good to identify weaknesses to train. Cracking effort on Wee Doris!
Exile – Not bad for a resty week.
AJM – Some good PE there. Interested to see how the phase goes.
Maria85 – good discipline with the weekly goals. And Climbing is definitely better than pizza.
Mrchewey – Contrasting experiences with Gogarth and Slate. Both very good achievements. 7a would be a good goal for next year!
Ali – City orienteering sounds great fun. Good week plan, did you stick to it?
Jimmykay – I guess you’re experiencing the limitations that real work puts on your climbing? Still enough sessions there to avoid detraining. Jealous of Spain…
Si_dH – We should bump into each other at the Station soon. Just had another glance at your LTGs – E4 OS should be a MTG at least for a fit route climber like yourself!
pebbles – Good work on Bond St, lot’s of technique involved on that one. Keep doing Couchto5K!
IanRUK – Solid
Rollo – Hopefully we’re all getting over our bugs now.
Annak – Wow you must be super motivated at the moment to fit all that in. And what better place to start outdoor sport!
Mattrm – so much DIY! It’s hard to stay motivated during these dark winter days but 6c by spring is a positive thing to aim for.
Grubes – Comps are never perfect, you always come away frustrated at a few mistakes, but that gives you a great tool to think back on what you can do differently in the future. Oh and by the way, making a video about climbing doesn’t count as training :P
Seankenny – Feeling better? Good week. Hope the bodyfat results aren’t a one off!
Curious – Good to see you back. Fit enough to up the intensity again?
Richard Popp – Agree with AJM and Biscuit on the pyramids. Re fingerboarding, don’t stop feel the need to stop at three sets of repeaters, you can do several sets on different grips, easily reaching 30min of effort.
Ian Bell – Looks like a good longcast. Work hard for the 7bs in march.
Ting – Yes I was parading … were you? I find features only routes really useful, and even better at a new wall.

Got home from Australia yesterday morning and now suffering from jetlag (been awake since 5am ish).

LTG (End 2013) - Unjustified at Malham

MTG (Spring 2013) - Melanchollie at LPT

STG (end Dec 2012)
- Stick to the plan...
- Get back in the groove quickly enough to make the most of Turkish trip at New Year.
- Avoid Christmas gluttony to make previous a reality

Did only 2days of climbing in Oz, but that was part of the plan; giving my finger and elbow a chance to recover from a year of abuse. The 2days at Arapiles were excellent and a real pleasure to climb in the sun and warmth after our abismal UK Autumn. Something i see i've returned to with a vengence.

I've put a minor blog together of of Oz trip - the Arapiles entry can be found here if you're interested

Didn't post last week, been busy.
I bouldered last weekend - didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. But then I don't boulder much, this being maybe the first time since spring. Did F6c though.

Yesterday was Stanage Popular - a stolen day, above the clag and mist, it was really quite nice for most of the afternoon. And suprisingly quiet...
Just bimbled around really.

Indoors has been pathetic. I really need to up it for Chorro at new years.
Working weekends and evenings just isn't good for climbing.

Cheers, Kev.

PS any recomendations for potentially quick ticks, that are good routes in mid to high 7's in Chorro? I don't want to seige routes with quirky hard to figure sequences really. I have strong fingers, weak arms and reasonable stamina. Thanks.

> PS any recomendations for potentially quick ticks, that are good routes in mid to high 7's in Chorro? I don't want to seige routes with quirky hard to figure sequences really. I have strong fingers, weak arms and reasonable stamina. Thanks.

I can give you some beta on the harder (7b and up) stuff I did try - you might think some of it suits you...

Tried a 7b at Buena Sombre at Desplomilandia called Judas. Seem to remember an awkward start, then some easier stuff, then a nails section through a bulge - wouldn't be one I'd go back for. However, not that I tried them but the short 7b on the left, Fran sin Nata or something, had a good rep for being power endurance fingery stuff, and Lion Careto looks awesome for a 7c, some wild moves. Not sure whether it would fit your original criteria mind you, in that I think it was pretty powerful rather than fingery.

Anack Sulieman at Frontales - brilliant 7b. Tried but didn't finish. Basically tufa to a sneaky knee bar, then steep layback to a rest, then a few steep juggy moves before a balancey fingery section right at the top on tufa crozzles. Long, about 35m, no hard moves. Honk Down, just to its left, looks ace at 7c, crux high on the wall, some sort of sneaky toe hook beta seemed to be being applied.

Alicia at 7b+ on Frontales - basically long moves on good holds to a shake, then a powerful crux (popping for a pocket) and a few trickier moves to finish. Good air potential Can supply slightly more detailed beta if you want it, though I'll have to dredge the memory banks. About 20m or so, so relatively short for the area, but fun.

Talebania at the edge of the PdR cave on Frontales, tried briefly with Nick. Basically gets gradually harder and steeper as you go up through the roof, mainly big holds but steepening, to some hard moves to get established in a groove on the lip and then some hard moves to get out of the groove to the chains. One I'd go back for on a future trip.

I feel like I could have done more with this week. On the other hand one or two of the sessions I managed were quite good quality I suppose.

So anyway:
Tuesday - board session. Strength/power maintenance. Didn't complete any problems but pulled hard.
Thursday - Warehouse. Did about a half dozen routes including a 6c+ and a 7a flash/onsight. Think the 7a was my first indoors which is good. think these could be my potential routes to lap as part of my aeropower training. Then went upstairs and hit the board. Managed to string together about a 25 move circuit, good moves, really intense project material. Had a few goes and could do chunks of it, so hopefully start to string decent links together next time round. Happily my friend decided he wasn't going to grade it 7a when he tagged it up after finding that the total was more than the sum of the parts
Saturday - met a big crowd at the Biscuit Factory. Felt a bit uninspired, don't really feel like I succeeded on anything, but tried hard and I guess that's what counts really. Spent lots of time chatting. Did manage to borrow a guide for Turkey that's a bit more up to date than mine which is good, nice psyche boost
Sunday - maybe a walk or something.

Last week of freedom this week, going to either try hard indoors for a few good quality pe sessions, or hopefully get outdoors, looks like there might be some sun later on in the week...

Van progress for the week: it now has an insulated floor, and after an embarrassing flat battery incident some windows in the sides too

Oh, and Saturday has left me very much convinced that I am, in comparison to almost all of the others there, really crap at instinctively spotting & even using when demonstrated heels, toehooks and that sort of stuff.

In reply to Daniel Heath: Thanks Dan, it was good to get a classic E4 feeling pretty steady and confident the whole way. As for weaknesses, I've started working on them now, hopefully not too late!

Mon - Good workout session. Did about an hour of bicep/lat work on the pull down machine, trying to get as much power work done as possible. Then did half an hour of core inc. lots of sit ups, leg raises and plank, then half an hour of alternating between pull ups and press ups.
Tue - rest, felt good to be so tired from the day before
Wed - went to MCC, routing. Warmed up then O/S 6c+, 7b+, 7b, 7b then failed O/S attempt at 7c. Should have really done better on it but I just didn't put enough effort in.
Thur - rest
Fri - rest
Sat - Sun wasn't out so decided we may as well go north facing - Burbage South. Warmed up on some ridiculous HVS, which had water driping out of it and soggy green footholds. Got up it with a struggle, locking off on jams!
Main aim of the day was to have a go at working Nosferatu, an E6, which was a little damp at the time. Put a toprope down it (shame on me...) then got all the moves in a few goes. Next go linked them all together, and found some more efficient beta. Ended up linking it all clean, including the dyno at the top, a couple of times steadily, but we only had two small pads so I'll hopefully come back with more pads in better conditions so I can give it a go on the lead. Hadn't been on grit for months so it took a while getting used to it again!

> PS any recomendations for potentially quick ticks, that are good routes in mid to high 7's in Chorro? I don't want to seige routes with quirky hard to figure sequences really. I have strong fingers, weak arms and reasonable stamina. Thanks.

I'd 2nd AJM's suggestions and add:

Birdy 7b+ @ Escalare Arabe
Rock the Kasbah ( soft 7b ) also at Escalare ARabe
Akira @ Deplo - boulder start, very easy climbing to very hard boulder crux
A few good 7b's and above at Triangulo. It's only 12 etres highish so very PE climbing on a slight overhanging face

In reply to AJM: Heelhooks and toe hooks are really helpful when bouldering inside, especially on those problems on loads of volumes and slopers and stuff, but those problems are pretty unrealistic and I never find those kind of moves really pay off when climbing on real rock, apart from maybe on tufas, so I wouldn't worry too much.

When I had the same issue I just went round the wall climbing every easy boulder problem using every heel/toe hook I could, and just generally making life easier for my arms, until it came natural to me. You look like a bit of a knob throwing in several heel hooks on the easiest problem at the wall but it pays off on the harder stuff, and it's a good skill to use on-route when trying to rest. My greatest asset being able to rest on bad holds, and heel hooks and drop knees really help take the weight off your arms.

Quiet week from me, didn't do anything all week as felt a bit ill still. Rather frustrating, but that's life. Psyche returned on Saturday with a day hit to the Peak from London, which meant a *very* early start to catch the dry weather before the afternoon rain.

We went to Burbage North, I retro-flashed Banana Finger and then did Banana Finger Direct, 6C, which I was pretty pleased with. Haven't done it before, haven't bouldered hardly at all this year and yet I'm hitting my top bouldering level, which is encouraging. General prognosis would be technically proficient but a bit weak.

Hopefully some proper training this coming week, and some work to improve my dicky shoulders.

> Heelhooks and toe hooks are really helpful when bouldering inside, especially on those problems on loads of volumes and slopers and stuff, but those problems are pretty unrealistic and I never find those kind of moves really pay off when climbing on real rock, apart from maybe on tufas, so I wouldn't worry too much.

I'm not so worried about it inside for its own sake, but tufas are an area I'm really psyched to get good at. Given I also want to improve my onsighting (I wouldn't mind getting somewhere close to the oft-quoted 3 grades of onsight vs redpoint difference, which means I need to be thinking about onsighting 7b and ultimately 7b+) getting these sorts of tricks to become second nature is essential - I'm not strong or fit enough to onsight that sort of grade on tufas by thugging, so I need to get trickery to become instinctive.

It just takes practice I suppose - my use of instinctive drop knees came on massively over the summer in Loup, and my ability to eventually (as in, could work them out whilst hanging on the rope) see and use knee bars got a lot better (from a near zero base!) in Loup and Rodellar, so practice will get me there in the end.

> When I had the same issue I just went round the wall climbing every easy boulder problem using every heel/toe hook I could, and just generally making life easier for my arms, until it came natural to me. You look like a bit of a knob throwing in several heel hooks on the easiest problem at the wall but it pays off on the harder stuff, and it's a good skill to use on-route when trying to rest. My greatest asset being able to rest on bad holds, and heel hooks and drop knees really help take the weight off your arms.

Sound advice. The wall in Bristol has loads of easy problems, so doing circuits of them whilst actively trying to use a heel or toe or something on every problem might be a good aim for the warmup.

I think more flexibility would help too, since I am in general as flexible as an iron bar and so things like getting heels high is a bit of a struggle...

In reply to AJM: It's ironic that I'm trying to get three grades difference between my onsight and redpoint grades, only in the opposite direction! Maybe heel hooks is the key to it all... but I'd agree that if tufas are something you want to get good at it's worth putting the effort in, I'm the opposite again as I really need to get better at using knee bars.

I'd also agree with encorporating it into your warm up - I always find if I begin the session climbing well and fluidly then I'll climb better throughout - then maybe include some stretching into the same warm up to improve flexibility, and you can train it on the wall as well as just simple stretches.

In reply to Daniel Heath:
Asked for some training advice on ukc last week and decided to start using the fit club so hi all

STG-back up to Font 7A's on grit (by end of january)

MTG-few routes on my wishlist, long johns slab, archangel, the rasp. (by end of april)

LTG- consolidate E4, at least 10 (by the end of 2013)

mon-nothing
tue-foundry leading up to f6c+ all onsight
wed-nothing
thu-beastmaker/ campus session at the works
fri-Led a couple of HVS's O/S at Stanage before the rain came
sat-soloed about 20 routes up to HVS at Stanage then beastmaker/campus session at the works
sun-Rest

went to the Bransby/Fawcett/Cave lecture last night too which has got me pretty excited for a winter of training, and my body seems to be coping with the beastmaker/ campussing so far.

In reply to Daniel Heath: Hi, thanks once more Dan and thanks for the feedback Biscuit,Andy and Shark. I am going to go with the 7b+ goal by this time next year, not getting any younger and making big gains will become more difficult as opposed to maintaining any gains (or gain getting behaviors) Probably wont set any trad goals, maybe look to transfer the following year. Andy made me think, being well rounded far more important than ticking a particular grade. I also think I need to get much more mileage in at 6a+-6c, therefore I am going to start a big fresh pyramid ranging from 6b-7b+ as well as bumping my existing pyramid up one and keeping the routes I have already done in it. This will serve to remind me to have days "mileage" days as well as performance days.

Having talked to someone I have climbed with quite a bit this week I think my main weakness is power and the ability to initiate burly-I need to beef up my core and shoulders fr more than my fingers-have got an old Grisham fingerboard routine for lanky climbers who struggle on steep stuff so will be prioritising that and bouldering at least until mid Jan.

Having said all that I have had a really poor week as I came down with a bug mid week and have only just got over it yesterday. Went to TCA today and had a pleasant afternoon, mainly doing volume, and using my stiff back and muscles. Looking forward to cracking on though.

Mon: Indoor Routes. Felt really weak and had low energy when warming up so wasn't particularly keen on falling off 7c's all night so decided to take it relatively easy for a change and did nothing harder than 7a+ or easier than 6c and had a lovely evening of actually getting to the top of routes. It really was quite pleasant not getting shut down all night.

Thurs: Indoor routes. No excuses after monday so I got back on the leading ladder 7c at stockport. Fell at the usual place twice but got a new high point of 1 move from the top. To get there I had to miss the top clip and I couldn't hold the 2nd to last hold so ended up falling about half the height of the wall which was exciting. route was busy for a bit after that so tried a 7b+ I'd avoided previously. Turned out OK but didn't have the juice to tick it.

Getting outdoors has continued to be tricky but I might get a chance next weekend providing the weather plays ball.

Cheers Dan. I guess having too much sun isn't that big a problem :0) It has chucked it down here for the last 6 weeks though.

Bad week all said and done. I said i would post some goals and i didn't and i have used that to slack off i think.

M - Long, hard day at work teaching trad. Bit brain fried.
T - Ditto
W - Nothing - i used the excuse that i was climbing on Thursday and didn't want to be tired for a performance day.
T - Climbing at Cauche
F - 1/2 hr run and 3 sets of 60/20's on pinches
S - Massive hangover
S - Part way through 3 sets of 60/20's on rungs as i type. Waiting until it's dark makes it much easier.

Climbing was good and bad. Silvi wanted a mileage session. All routes were repeats and went:

1) 30m stamina 7a+ repeat (clean top rope for me, that's too much for a warm up)
2) 12 m 7a. Been on it 3 times before but never got it, Silvi showed me new beta that involved the tiniest hand and foot holds i have ever used. I thought my fingers were going to snap. I used a 2 finger tiny edge that i would not have even considered, and i stuck it. I reckon it turned a 7a into a 7c. Bonkers ! Had to rest twice.
3) 12m 7a. Had to rest after cocking up a sequence through a roof. Got my feet wrong. However i felt totally secure on the really polished very technical/fingery first couple of bolts. Big improvement.
4) 14m 7b New route to me and again it had a fingery technical start which i flashed. I got stuck at the roof again and ended up pulling through as light was fading and then got the rest Keen to get back on it. I tried some different beta for the roof which i think would work.

So next week i will do:

Body fat - find new reading and reduce by .5%. I really need to get a grip on this now. I am around 13% and a few months ago i got a couple of single figure readings.
Climb - get a 7b done, either the route above or a new one.
Board - x3 - i think i'm going to stick with rungs this week. it gives me a more realistic pump.
Core x4.
Run x5

I've been doing an ML training course in the Lake District so haven't climbed at all this week. All part of the masterplan though as I wanted to rest my fingers. They're feeling a lot better now and I think one has recovered. The other is probably a permanent injury as it's been sore and swollen for a over a year now.

My plan is to not climb this week and then get back to it next week. Might start some gentle fingerboarding next week as a way of increasing my finger strength. Or I might not, can I be arsed dependent.

> Grubes – Comps are never perfect, you always come away frustrated at a few mistakes, but that gives you a great tool to think back on what you can do differently in the future. Oh and by the way, making a video about climbing doesn’t count as training :P

Cheers Dan ... I guess its not but was fun to look back on the trip with a different view. TBH if you have seen the video there is not much climbing more stupidity ..

STG (end of 2012):
No major injuries
LTG (End of 2013):
7b
7A
E3/4

This Weeks Goals:
Finish Video - Tick
Wall a couple of times - only once

M: Finished video and wrote a blog
T: Depot. Awesome session. Pull hard finished loads of problems from the week before. I also bought the tarragona guide .. wow!!! margalef and siurana look awesome. So psyched for march
W: Peak AGM got spanked on the quiz
T: Rest. Got and e-mail from my mate to start properly looking at Canada flights.
F: Shoved in the back of a minibus and taken to Tremadog
S: Tremadog. Lead both pitches on The fang (HVS 5a) onsight brilliant route. Went slightly off route onto the E2 on the top pitch felt a little necky. Then my partner wanted to lead Oberon got to the top of pitch 1 and it started to rain so we abed of and retreated to the hut
S: After a heavy night of rain we headed to the slate quarrys. I wanted to get on Looning the tube and have done for a while. We got to Australia and the only wet route was looning. A bit disheartened we tried a HVS that had been retro bolted. Awkward thrutching and bridging fell off it was shit. Sacked it off.
We left Australia and headed to Serengeti I did seams the same (E1 5b) onsight felt easy and suited me. It was getting cold and started raining so headed back.

Next Weeks goals:
Wall a couple of times.
Trad/bouldering at the weekend
Book flights to Canada
Plan next years goals.
Write down next years training focus (possibly a blog)

So I basically got abducted on Friday. A minibus turned up at my house and I got told I was off to wales. Shoved a load of stuff in a bag and set off to the BRMC hut under Tremadog.
Ended up warming up on a HVS as I lost half a day, time was limited. I got on it and found it fine. My goal was to get on the plum but the weather came and I ended up getting wasted in the hut.
Today the weather looked okay but it was still damp from the night before so I got on the slate which was a goal for this year I removed as I did not think I would get on it.
So happy, love slate. Also nice to get another E1 tick and a multi pitch HVS is an awesome weekend for me.
The psyche is back. I just needed some new venues and hard pulling.

M-Nothing
T-Nothing
W-Boulder session. Good training, tried problems up to v8. Then circuits on the system board. Finished with leg raisers.
T-Nothing
F-Nothing
S-Same session as wednesday. Getting better on the circuits. Then went out and got blind drunk.
S-Hanging out of my arse.

M - Nothing
T - 35 min run
W - Biscuit Factory - was mentally busy, so struggled to actually get on problems. Did about 15 problems including 5 or so which took a few attempts, or felt hard. Was too busy really to warm up properly - just jumped on problems when I could get on them. Did a short core session to finish.
T - had planned to go to gym, but ended up working instead
F - Nothing
S - Short run - 27 mins
S - Biscuit Factory - did about 15 warm ups, then managed to get 5 reds and tried a few problems on the steep board. Short core session to finish.

Tiring week and really busy at work which scuppered things to some extent, along with the beginnings of a cold. Only thing didn't make was gym session as had some work to do that evening.

Next week's goals:

2 x run
2 x climbing session (hopefully one outdoors)
1 x gym session (again this may end up being cut but have passes which expire next week so hopefully make it!)
1 x core

Got a lot on at work at the moment, plus some personal stuff I need to do over the next few months so reckon the exercise may have to take a bit of a back seat. Given that I haven't got any particular targets/projects at the moment and feeling a wee bit uninspired this seems like as good a time as any. So aiming for maintenance rather than solid gains.

STG: Snowdon Race - beat last years time. - Fail
Cuillin Ridge Traverse - 2 day attempt. - Tick
Just to get out climbing again (struggle to run and climb, running has won for the last 2 years or so).
Ben Nevis Race - beat last years time. - Tick

Massive PB on Friday. Was suppose to be a tempo run over the race route to see if I had actually improved and if I wanted to actually do the race next Sunday, but ended up going as fast as possible. Was dragged along by a mate who is a much better runner. I'm not much of a racer or very competitive but surely I can find 15s quicker on race day.
I'm not sure what to run this week with the race on Sunday, my legs feel a bit knackered because Monday was a fast 5k, Tuesday was 400m speed intervals and Friday was race pace over 10k.

>
> Si_dH – We should bump into each other at the Station soon. Just had another glance at your LTGs – E4 OS should be a MTG at least for a fit route climber like yourself!

Cheers Dan. Thanks for the compliment, Im not so sure, but either way the LTG is really just about what I intend doing after the Font trip, which is about the next time I intend to do any trad anyway. I might do a little in spring, but not much until late May/early June unless the limestone sport stays wet past April.

I might try the Nottingham Depot this week if I get the chance - have you been?

STG (this winter through to March): tick at least 10 Ft7s, including at least one Ft7b, before Font [so far: 1 Ft 7a]

M: Bouldering at Alter Rock. Started poorly but managed to get a good session in eventually after a mate turned up, which always helps psyche a bit. when going badly.
T: Tried a fingerboard session focussing on pockets but felt my right 'ring' finger tweak slightly early on so stopped quickly. Have noticed a couple of very minor tweaks (on different fingers) the last couple of weeks which is unusual for me - my fingers are usually pretty robust compared to my mates - so need to watch this. Think it must just be a product of increased bouldering and fingerboarding. Nothing serious yet though.
W: Fingerboard session. Max hangs on small crimps and pinching the 30s.
T: Bouldering at Alter Rock. Did most of the new problems, again started badly but it felt ok in the end. A couple of good ones to go back for.
F: 50 chin-ups on the BM before breakfast
S: Bouldering at Roaches in the morning. Wanted to do C3PO and Nadin's Traverse but didn't manage either - I felt close to C3PO 2nd or 3rd go but then couldnt repeat the start move, and couldn't get warm enough to do the crux on Nadin's. However I did rescue the day a bit by doing Limbless Limbo Dancer (soft Ft 7a, used to get 6c, maybe more like 6c+ but I'll take the grade for goal purposes) and Drunk Enough (Ft 6c+), which I got 2nd go (having tried it a couple of years previously). Considering it was baltic and quite windy and I only had until 130pm, not too bad really.
S: Rest / nothing. Did get most of our xmas shopping out the way though, phew.

A bit of a mixed week really - on paper it looks ok but the fingerboard sessions weren't as good as they should have been. I've also been eating really badly - lots of snacking, on Friday I had pizza and I drank both Friday and Saturday nights. Also going to friends' house for dinner tomorrow night. Not weighed myself...

In reply to Daniel Heath:
Last week's goals:
- Bike to work x3 Total fail
- 2 wall sessions 3!!!
- 2 runs Done one
- 1 each fingerboard & core sessions One core done
- Get out riding or climbing both weekend days. One day-ish
- May also get out mid-week, wed is my birthday so might take day off if the weather's good. Nope

Not the best week, the lurgy I was fighting last weekend won and wiped out the first couple of days for me, followed by my birthday on Wed still not feeling great so didn't think of anything other than eating cake! (weather was pants anyway).

M: Nothing. Sneezing lots. Cancelled wall session.
T: Went down to the wall (bingley) but still feeling rubbish - half arsed short session, did some easy stuff.
W: Nothing.
T: Depot after work. Did lots of blues, tried some greys but generally struggled on at least one move of each. Must have been a good session though as my abs hurt the next day!
F: Lunchtime run - 22 mins - 3.75km, 75m height. Beautiful sunny day.
S: Mooched around all day as weather horrible. Did a core session in the evening.
S: Morning weather crap but cleared up around lunch. Got out for an hour on the bike (10km, 200m height, seriously wet and muddy descent, bike complaining lots) - followed by Bingley wall again - got up some of the hardish blues and easier greens. Ok session.

Feeling pretty motivated, still hard to get out when the weather's rubbish though. I don't mind rain too much, it's the low grey depressing cloud and biting wind I hate!!

Goals for this week:
- 2x wall sessions
- 3x runs (lunchtime - really enjoyed that the other day)
- 3x bike to work
- Quite possibly night orienteering on Wed night, which will be interesting/hopeless!!
- 2x core sessions. Unable to fingerboard until (hopefully) next week due to board mounting issues...
- Weather dependent weekend climbing - have to be in Preston Fri night and back here Sat night though so limited to local(ish) stuff.

In reply to Daniel Heath: Thanks Daniel- bodyfat is a strange one, takes a bit more patience I think.
NMN - top work on the Pb
Grubes - Nice work on Seams the Same. That'll be my first E1 I've decided, I love it in the quarries.

Weight 77.9kg
Bodyfat 23.1%

Apart from too many crisps, it's been a decent week on the diet front but let myself down on Saturday having 10/12 pints. Need to keep focused.

Mon - Boulder room. First time on the reset, just pottered around the easy grades as a little knackered from the weekend at Gogarth and Dinorwig.
Wed - Boulder Room. Tried a new V3, it's got a new move for me and I need to man up to do it. Deadhangs on the fingerboard too. Then quite daftly put a rope on and tried to lead 6b for the first time on the comp wall. Fine to the third clip and then I had nothing left. Tried to keep going and peeled off. Got on a vertical 6a and was pumped by the 5th clip - home time.

Felt shattered all week to be honest, sacked off climbing on Fri and just went to bed early. Wed was a good session as the fingertips are still sore even now. The 6b felt okay, just need to do a few routes sessions I guess or some 4x4s in the boulder room to build up the stamina for 12m as opposed to the 4m I'm used to in the boulder room.

GOALS for 2013. Some might be beyond me but I'd have not done an ultra or the adventure race this year if Tim hadn't set me such high aims. Don't want to set them too low and then be happy with achieving less than I should/could have.

Lead E1. Only have on HS logged at the moment. Got no issues with trad or being above gear, just been a bit lazy if I'm honest. Ideally would like three E1s by year end.

Solo either the Eiger, Matterhorn or Mont Blanc. If the weather is kind, then all three as it was the weather that proved decisive this year. Tower Ridge too this winter, as that was another fail last due to my mate getting ill mid climb. Do some winter roped climbing.

Boulder V4 - managed the Pump Traverse on the RAC boulders for a start.

Lead 7a. (Aspirational) Bit of a dream this one but it will keep me focused all year. Shorty's Dyno in Dinorwig, it's not too long and a soft touch I'm told.

Realised the other day that I've only done exercise on 45% of the days this year. Had really wanted to hit 50%. It's possible, but only if I only miss 4 days in the run up to the 31st. Hence lots of runs/swims etc this week. Had been planning on going to the wall at the weekend. But DIY got in the way. I think the 6c is doable, esp if I spend more time in Purgatory, sorry, Boulders. I just really don't like climbing walls much. So boring.

Rich P - Forgot to say, great news about the clear check-ups. Glad to hear you're all clear.

MrChewy - if you're dead set on the soloing Eiger/Matterhorn, fair enough. Just please rope up on the glaciers, sorry to be a wuss, but it's just not worth the risk. I know a few mates who've done the Matterhorn and it's pretty hard, so don't underestimate it.

Couple more days of bouldering for me last week have also started cautiously campus boarding.

No massive high lights, picking off a few more problems in the WW. WIBL 18 & 27 done. WIBL30 close now, just got to link it. Never actually managed a 30, when I've been strong enough I haven't done it for one reason or another.

Struggling to get much cardio in, a combination of laziness and being busy. Still managed to get in my min. 3 sessions of climbing. Feeling at the moment like my modest gains in climbing strength are being offset by modest gains in weight!

M- Bouldering, Biscuit. 40min Jog to Biscuit and back
T-
W-
T-
F-
S- Bouldering, Biscuit. 45min Jog to climbing wall and longer way home
S- Climbing, Castle. Got one 6b clean. Shut down by a couple more

Best efforts outdoors this year, (and ever I surpose!):
RP - 7a
HP - E5 6b
Boulder - V4
Onsigth E2/3, (weather didn't really allow as much of this as I would have liked.)
Winter V 6, (would have tried VI 7 but not in the right place at the right time.)

Goals by the end of the year:
Boulder V5 outside?
Winter - VI 7 if conditions allow
Weight down to well under 11.5, Body fat under 10%, (16% at present!)

cardio and core in gym everday (mainly interval training on bike)plus weights on monday and wednesday

bouldering indoors for an hour each time tues, thurs after cardio and core more boudlering on sunday after hill running

long mounatain bike ride on saturday

hill run on sunday

injurned my back/chest shoulder... but would give it a 3 0ut of 10 for pain, fine when warmed up and not made worse by climbing.. but had week commencing the 12th nov off climbing and weights because of it.so took it easy last week

my bouldering is very average right now...lancaster uni problems seem to be too easy or too difficult... they're resetting this weekend so hopefully will feel more inspired after that, if i can stay injury free (and shoulder/back thing doesn;t get worse) then i should start inproving again. will start routes again in anotehr couple of weeks.

In reply to Daniel Heath:
Yes, I dropped off the radar due to unavoidable interruptions but getting back on track now. Not being able to climb for a couple of weeks has shown how much it's become part of my life now, so sorry for long post but its a good point to take stock.

Week 296 - rubbish, no climbing, one run.

M-F: no climbing, one run

Weekend: Club trip to North Wales, thought climbing might be optimistic but we were lucky with weather holding off until 3-4ish so got some cragging in.

S: Teaching on trad routes on Holyhead "mountain" inc leading on pre-placed gear and abseiling. Am lucky and grateful for the apprenticeship and good crowd, things are beginning to click.
S: Went to the slate quarries and had another short but fun sociable day at Australia. Led two and top-roped the rest, wish in retrospect had tried leading more of em but hadn't done any sport before (or climbed on slate) so lacked confidence. A couple of other yorkshire groups there too *waves*.

Time to relook at my goals methinks since I have a better idea of myself as a climber and what I want to do since I started posting here. I forget that I've only been climbing at all for 9 months, regularly for 6 months and trad for 3, so where I am is perfectly fine!

STG: Do some form of exercise x3 a week - not happening, but it's a motivational goal which has definitely got me out more than before.
Lead/Consolidate 5/5+ indoors - tick, apart from steep overhangs...

MTG: Lead a 6a indoors - ticked recently
Reliable/confident lead belayer - confidence tick, but practice makes perfect.
Get outdoors more - tick. Don't really need as a goal anymore as am getting into the habit and having a good time.

LTG: Not sure yet, keep at it and improve

New goals

STG: Do some form of exercise x3 a week
Get on more steep and harder stuff indoors

MTG: Trad: Onsight severe - Have kind of led one, but I need to lead more easier routes to get better at placing and trusting gear.
Indoors: Consolidate 6a

LTG: Get and stay fitter in general - It's taken climbing to get me to see the point of this for the first time which is a bit daft.
Keep pushing grades and see where I end up - No idea where this might be but at least I've got youth on my side!

Cheers for the support all, and hope the lurgies skedaddle for everyone poorly last week.

In reply to oddtoast:
were you on the first tier of australia? near sport4all and surprise surprise?
I went to the bottom section to try looning the tube but it was wet. I was there with the huddersfield Uni club and Leeds uni lot were there too.

In reply to grubes:
Yeah we were on first tier - gorgeous when the sun was out, and surprise surprise was fun (TR-ed) then headed up to the second tier later on. York uni was there too methinks.

I'm more of a book-learner so can be a bit slow with physical skills but the ropework etc is starting to sink in, just trying to get the basics nailed so I can be safe, and glad to have some patient folk to help me

In reply to mattrm: Sorry to hear about your Gran Matt - always a tough time, just be glad you did take the time to visit her a lot lately.

Cheers for the concern too on the glacier thing - can't do much about Mont Blanc but the Matterhorn and Eiger are safe enough on the routes I'd be on, hence picking them. Ideally one would be ticked by now but it's all down to the weather eh? Know what you mean about indoor climbing...

In reply to Daniel Heath: started off well , Monday finally ticked a problem iv been failing on for weeks. Rest of week downhill from there. Climbed routes like a complete wazzock Tuesday, didn't warm up well then failed on almost everything.
Wednesday did core session, didn't run as really tired. Thurs-started getting flu, been under duvet since Friday!

> Grubes - Nice work on Seams the Same. That'll be my first E1 I've decided, I love it in the quarries.

Thanks. The line is great. Slab basics Get weight over you feet if you see gear place it and take your time and focus on the next move.
Good luck with it, have you done seamstress? that looks awesome too.

In reply to grubes: I've seconded Seamstress but when I was there a few weeks back it kept raining on and off - we just had time for my mate to do Seams the Same (his first E1) and I let Rachel second it - didn't want to ruin it for myself!
Can't stand slabs indoors but love being on slate. Strange.

Thanks Daniel! Yes, I am feeling very motivated, although lately I've been a little burned out and felt my enthusiasm wane a little. As much as I'd like to, I can't do everything all the time, so I've been re-assessing my priorities, and trimming my schedule to fit - going to cancel my gym membership for more cycling, running and climbing, and possibly bodyweight circuits and yoga if I miss it too much.

Anyway so last week looked like:

M: gym - upper body push, cycle 7 miles

Tu: cycle 7 miles

W: pretty run down so had an unscheduled rest day, and felt much better for it

Th: bouldering pre-work - my best session for ages, no doubt partly due to having Wednesday off. I think I need to schedule proper rest and recovery, which is so hard because I just enjoy my sports too much!

F: run - 6.5 miles in 53 mins. My first stab at 10km since I started training for the race in December, pretty chuffed with my time actually (10 mins quicker than my previous PB a few years ago)

Sa: At the Plas Y Brenin 'Big Winter Climb' course - mostly a rest day, although did have a schmooling session that was lots of fun.

Su: As Saturday, but tried out dry tooling up the world's muddiest crag.

hiya...i've had the training bug/habit since i was a kid...(years and years before i started climbing) so it's just a way of life... i work full time and always fit my training in .. no matter what.. i'm travelling 3 hours round trip for work now too but i think my bouldering sessions are suffering a bit because of this.. i'm doing no more than an hour each time after some cardio, i think once i've got into a routine with the driving to work more i might be able to spend longer on the after work sessions.

PS i also have a fitness freak of a partner so i don't ever get any pressure to go home too early or spend my weekends shopping at asda

AND

i'm planning on going part time next summer (3 days a week)so should be easier to do as much if not more

BUT

i might have great all round fitness but my finger strength and power endurance is miles off what i'd like it to be.